"The softest thing under heaven is water, yet nothing that attacks the hard and strong can defeat it, because it is unyielding. That the weak overcomes the strong, and the soft overcomes the hard, is known to all under heaven, yet none practice it."

The Master of the Phoenix Ancient Civilization was inherently one of the most supreme beings between heaven and earth, possessing at least ten eons of magical power. Such power could not only stop Lu Yuan with ease but even block an attack from the Deputy Lord of the Miao Civilization. The Deputy Lord of the Miao Civilization looked toward the Master of the Phoenix Ancient Civilization: "Master of the Phoenix Ancient Civilization, if it were not for your favoritism toward this junior."

The Master of the Phoenix Ancient Civilization let out a cold laugh: "First, you claim Miao Changsheng of your Miao Civilization was killed, then the Deputy Lords of the Miao Saber and Miao Gu Civilizations come out to challenge one junior, now the Deputy Lords of the Miao Saber and Miao Gu Civilizations are both dead, and you come seeking vengeance again. If you were killed, would the Desolate Ancient Civilization, friendly with you, come seeking vengeance? Must vengeance follow vengeance endlessly?"

"This matter ends here. If you want trouble with Lu Yuan, fine. Wait until Lu Yuan leaves the Phoenix Ancient Civilization. Otherwise, my Phoenix Ancient Civilization will become your exclusive hunting ground for revenge." The Master of the Phoenix Ancient Civilization stated coldly.

What the Master of the Phoenix Ancient Civilization said held water.

Indeed, avenging kin is proper justice.

But killing the young for the old, killing the middle ones for the big ones, killing the big ones for the old ones—it's all the same tedious pattern. If you keep settling grievances this way, others will grow weary of it. It’s fine to resolve enmity, but having done so once within the Phoenix Ancient Civilization, which already granted you considerable face, you now seek to resolve it a second, or even a third time? Do you think the Phoenix Ancient Civilization is your private domain? It’s like fighting in a tavern once, then a second time, then a third. If you owned the tavern, fine, fight as much as you like. But if you don't own it, the tavern owner naturally won't be pleased.

When the Master of the Phoenix Ancient Civilization spoke, the words were not exactly biased toward Lu Yuan. She remained largely neutral.

And given the immense strength of the Master of the Phoenix Ancient Civilization, when she declared the fighting must cease, the Deputy Lord of the Miao Civilization, no matter how frustrated, could only comply honestly.

The Deputy Lord of the Miao Civilization looked at Lu Yuan: "Since the Master of the Phoenix Ancient Civilization has spoken, within the Phoenix Ancient Civilization, I will refrain from causing you trouble." He offered no threats. Why would he? Given his hatred for Lu Yuan, did he need threatening words? Given the slightest opportunity, the Deputy Lord of the Miao Civilization would swiftly execute Lu Yuan; he absolutely could not allow Lu Yuan to live long.

The Deputy Lord of the Miao Civilization made a move, sheathing the Miao Saber: "Master of the Phoenix Ancient Civilization, within this territory, as long as Lu Yuan does not actively provoke me, I will not seek him out. However, the remains of Miao Saber and Miao Gu must be handed over. Lu Yuan absolutely cannot obtain them." Civilization remains were inherently resources of extreme importance.

The Master of the Phoenix Ancient Civilization nodded and looked at Lu Yuan: "Lu Yuan, this is a reasonable request. Hand over the civilization remains of Miao Saber and Miao Gu."

Lu Yuan naturally had no choice but to hand over the remains. The neutral stance of the Master of the Phoenix Ancient Civilization had already helped him immensely. However, before handing over the remains, Lu Yuan waved his great magical palm within the New Sword World and looted all the assets from the bodies of the two Deputy Lords.

The Deputy Lord of the Miao Gu Civilization possessed no fewer than eighty Celestial-grade spiritual veins, while the Deputy Lord of the Miao Saber Civilization had one hundred.

Lu Yuan already had eighty spiritual veins; adding these one hundred and eighty now brought his total to two hundred and sixty spiritual veins.

Simultaneously, he acquired a divine object from the Deputy Lord of the Miao Gu Civilization: a small insect carving. However, the rank of this divine object was low, barely capable of elevating someone from the First Epoch to the Second Epoch. From the Deputy Lord of the Miao Saber Civilization, there was a stone emitting the aura of a divine object, also of low rank.

Both were low-grade divine objects of negligible weight! For the Deputy Lords of the Miao Gu and Miao Saber Civilizations, these items were insufficient for upgrading, but combined, they might just be enough for Lu Yuan to advance. The stone from the Deputy Lord of the Miao Saber Civilization was actually quite a respectable divine item.

Having obtained the Celestial-grade spiritual veins and the divine objects, Lu Yuan lost interest in the Miao Civilization's saber techniques and gu insects, so he took no further measures, transferring the two bodies out of the New Sword World. The Deputy Lord of the Miao Civilization did not notice Lu Yuan had thoroughly looted Miao Saber and Miao Gu. This was considered Lu Yuan's spoils of war; while retrieving the civilization remains was reasonable, demanding back the Celestial-grade spiritual veins and other items would have been unreasonable.

When brute force fails to solve a problem, rules and reason must prevail.

Currently, neither Lu Yuan nor the Deputy Lord of the Miao Civilization could resolve the issue through fighting. Although the Deputy Lord of the Miao Civilization wielded far greater physical might, the Phoenix Ancient Civilization was temporarily unable to use force, so they had to proceed by the rules of reason.

The Deputy Lord of the Miao Civilization swept his hand, drawing the remains of the two Deputy Lords, Miao Saber and Miao Gu, into his sleeve. Since the fight was off, he took his seat near the Miao Civilization contingent. He addressed Miao Nü Qinglian across the way: "For the upcoming Maiden of Green contest, compete well." His tone was flat, yet it involuntarily conveyed significant support to Miao Nü Qinglian.

Miao Nü Qinglian had initially been quite self-satisfied. She believed that Lu Yuan, having merely slain Miao Changsheng, was a newcomer to the Civilization Realm. Therefore, she was absolutely confident that the combined forces of Miao Saber and Miao Gu, both in the Civilization Realm, could easily deal with Lu Yuan. She had been brimming with confidence, never dreaming Lu Yuan could actually slay both Civilization Realm figures. Witnessing Lu Yuan's invincible display, Miao Nü Qinglian’s courage had utterly evaporated, leaving her completely stunned. She had never imagined Lu Yuan could be so ferocious and now lacked all confidence.

Fortunately, the Deputy Lord of the Miao Civilization had arrived. With his overwhelmingly superior power, he could easily defeat Lu Yuan, and the Deputy Lord had always been the most revered figure in Miao Nü Qinglian’s eyes. His appearance provided her with a measure of composure. Furthermore, the Deputy Lord then channeled a stream of magic power into Qinglian, further bolstering her self-belief.

The surrounding Civilization Realm figures finally let out a collective sigh of relief. Lu Yuan's duel against Miao Saber and Miao Gu had been incredibly gripping, and the subsequent intrusion by the Deputy Lord of the Miao Civilization had made the spectacle breathtaking. Now that the dust had settled, Lu Yuan was the victor, but he and the Deputy Lord of the Miao Civilization had forged an irreconcilable, epoch-shattering hatred.

The World Realm figures observing from beyond the Civilization Realm all opened their eyes. Some of these figures, like the Son of Martial Arts (Wu Zhizi), the Son of Law (Fa Zhizi), and Feng Xingxing, already knew Lu Yuan. They had previously been astonished by how quickly Lu Yuan had ascended to the Civilization Realm by effortlessly slaying Miao Changsheng. Now, seeing him defeat two Deputy Lords, Miao Saber and Miao Gu, in a two-on-one fight, these paragons of heaven were all slack-jawed. Wu Zhizi shook his head: "Lu Yuan is too monstrous. His strength surpasses ours among the Sons of Fortune; perhaps only the Son of Desolation (Huang Zhizi) can match him."

"I hear Li Taishi is the Son of Darkness. I wonder what his current strength is." There was still a misconception in the Central Celestial Court: labeling Li Taishi as the Son of Darkness. Given the prowess of the Son of Desolation and Lu Yuan, they were naturally curious about Li Taishi’s current level.

Fa Zhizi asked: "Lu Yuan calls himself the Deputy Lord of the Sword Civilization. I wonder what the title of the Son of Desolation is?"

"The Son of Desolation's title is the Deputy Lord of the Desolate Epoch Civilization. 'Epoch' encompasses all things, and the Deputy Lord title of the Son of Desolation is extraordinary, fully comparable to the Deputy Lord of the Sword Civilization. The Son of Desolation is no simple figure; if he and Lu Yuan clash in the future, it's hard to say who would win." The Deputy Lord of the Dharma Civilization (Fa Kong) interjected.

"Deputy Lord of the Desolate Epoch Civilization," Fa Zhizi murmured. A Deputy Lord of the Desolate Epoch Civilization, a Deputy Lord of the Sword Civilization—one representing the Epoch, the other encompassing all things. These two were truly beings of peerless, heaven-defying talent. Fa Zhizi resolved firmly that he must ascend to the Civilization Realm, lest these two leave him too far behind.

Yue Nü Xiaoqing gently let out a breath of relief, lightly patting her small, soft chest. Among all those present, Yue Nü Xiaoqing had been the most worried since Miao Saber and Miao Gu made their move. She had genuinely feared Lu Yuan dying at the hands of the two Civilization Realm figures, not for the sake of the Maiden of Green position, but purely out of concern for Lu Yuan. Thankfully, Lu Yuan had prevailed.

Lu Yuan sat beside Yue Nü Xiaoqing: "Don't worry. Focus on how you will handle the upcoming Maiden of Green contest." Lu Yuan’s composed demeanor reassured Yue Nü Xiaoqing even further.

"Clang!" A distant, echoing bell tone rang out—this was the seventh strike of the Green Sound Bell. Once it chimed nine times, the Maiden of Green contest would begin.

The battle between Lu Yuan and Miao Saber/Miao Gu occurred during the sixth chime. Their exchange was lightning-fast, so only the seventh chime had sounded now, leaving two more chimes remaining.

Lu Yuan did not waste time; he sat calmly, simultaneously refining the Heaven and Earth Divine Objects left behind by Miao Saber and Miao Gu. Miao Gu’s insect sculpture and Miao Saber’s stone radiating divine aura both unleashed mystical energy, and Lu Yuan felt the power within his own body continually rising.

Having lingered at the peak of the Second Epoch for a long time, he was now beginning to charge toward the Third Epoch.

Lu Yuan circulated his magical power; it flowed like a surging silver river, spinning furiously around the New Sword World, resembling an infinitely long dragon of Minor Thousand Worlds.